November 11th
by MeisterYM
Summary: Spoiler Warning: The story takes place beyond one year after Volumes 8 and 9 when Shido seals Natsumi's powers. Notes: 1.) The story takes place several months after the fan fiction story: "Realization: Shido's Feelings". 2.) Characters may not behave as they typically would in the light novel or anime series.
1. Prologue

November 11th

By: MeisterYM

**_Prologue_**

"Still, you sure picked a strange day for a date."

Not being able to help himself from forming a remark, Shido Itsuka followed the clear route in front of him within the shopping district. Where it was going to lead him, he didn't know, but he was certain that the person who was currently clinging to his right arm knew.

The girl giggled softly at Shido's comment. Her black hair was fairly long and tied into two portions, both of them going past her shoulders. Her eyes on the other hand were even more unique, the right one was a bright red whereas the left one was covered by her bangs. She wore Raizen High's school uniform for girls.

"Are you curious?"

Kurumi Tokisaki's question was meant as a tease.

"Of course I am."

If a girl suddenly asked someone to go on a date with her on a school day without even telling him what they were doing or where they were going, Shido was certain that anyone would be worried about her immediate request.

Unfortunately for Shido, no matter how suspicious she was, the girl who asked him out in particular was someone he considered to be very special to him. While she was the cause of many troubles, he couldn't help but follow her on a whim. He also wasn't exactly bothered by it, so he thought that agreeing to a date with her wouldn't have hurt.

"Ah, that's no good, Shido-san."

Kurumi suddenly softly tugged at Shido's arm, bringing him closer to her.

"W-What's no good?"

Kurumi's boldness had always been one of her amusing characteristics, but it was also sometimes the most dangerous. Shido had to check several times to see if his heart was still functioning normally during the past. This moment was no exception.

"We're on a date, and yet your mind is somewhere else."

Surprised at Kurumi's accurate claim, Shido felt as if she were reading his mind.

"S-Sorry."

Not knowing what else to say, Shido apologized.

Kurumi gave a warm smile.

"I guess I can forgive you. But only after your penalty."

"Penalty?"

Shido turned to look at Kurumi.

"Of course. You belong to me for the day, but you decided to think of something else."

Kurumi was bold. Very bold. Shido was certain that her assertiveness knew no bounds, and as fate would have it, he would be reminded of her very courage once again.


	2. Chapter 1

**_Chapter 1_**

"Here we are."

After going through the shopping district and walking with Shido in tow for another handful of minutes, Kurumi stopped walking to turn and look at the place that the two of them had arrived at.

"Here?"

Since Kurumi had such a striking personality, Shido had expected that he would have had to go somewhere more uncomfortable. Last year the two of them had gone to a lingerie shop, so he was worried that today's date was going to be the same. Instead, the place that the two had arrived at seemed rather normal.

"A café?"

"That's right. Did you not want to go?"

Shido shook his head.

"No, it's not that. I just wasn't expecting the place to be a café."

Kurumi giggled.

"Were you expecting someplace more suspicious?"

And as if Kurumi had read his mind again, Shido couldn't help but be impressed by how well she knew him.

"To be honest, yes."

"We could always do that afterwards."

"N-No, the café sounds fine."

As flattered as he was with Kurumi's various offers, he didn't want to take a chance at doing something that he might later regret.

"That's a shame."

Kurumi made a slightly disappointed look, but the expression disappeared as quickly as it came as she immediately brought another smile to her face.

"Shall we go in?"

"Yeah, but…like this?"

Kurumi was still embracing Shido's right arm.

"Do you not like this?"

Kurumi's expression turned sad.

"Uh, it's not that I don't like it. It's just that…people will get the wrong idea."

Normally Shido would be okay with this type of behavior since he's been on so many dates, but today's date was not a mission, so he didn't feel as though he had to be so intimate with Kurumi throughout the whole time. Plus Kurumi's circumstances were no longer the same as last time's, so she didn't really have any obligation to stay like this either.

And yet…

"Oh?"

Shido turned his head to see Kurumi's reaction, and once again, like always, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

The moment Shido turned to look at Kurumi, her face was inches from his. Her eyes were staring intently into his own.

"We could always make it the right idea."

"Eh?"

There was a slight pause. The distance between Kurumi and Shido's faces didn't change.

But…

Realizing what she had just said, Kurumi's face quickly turned bright red. Even for someone as daring as her, she couldn't understand why she herself would say such a thing. She immediately backed away, still not letting go of Shido's arm.

"N-Nothing, let's go in."

Not waiting for Shido's reply, Kurumi walked ahead and eventually began dragging Shido along with her towards the inside of the café.


	3. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2_**

"I'm surprised, Kurumi. I didn't know you were into normal places like this."

Shido looked around the inside of the café. It seemed too good to be true. From what he could see, the café was full of many customers, and most of them came as a couple sharing a sundae. It seemed to be the main attraction, yet the situation still made him feel skeptical.

The café was rather spacious, so instead of ordering at the counter, there were waiters and waitresses who came to people as if it were a restaurant instead. It couldn't be called a maid or pet café because neither of those were here, but it seems like they had a special theme that he couldn't quite comprehend.

"Sometimes I feel like you're making fun of me, Shido-san."

Turning his attention back to Kurumi, he noticed that her face was still slightly pink. Once again Shido couldn't tell what she was thinking. And more importantly, her previously bold personality felt like a distant memory. However it wasn't a bad thing. Smiling, he tried to help Kurumi with her embarrassment.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't do that."

Suddenly, Shido touched his chin with his finger.

"Well, not a whole lot anyway."

"Well, thank you for that."

Shido laughed. Seeing Kurumi annoyed wasn't something that happened very often. It was cute.

A few minutes passed by and a waitress came by to ask what Shido and Kurumi wanted. It was here that Shido's suspicions reemerged. While Shido had ordered a beverage, Kurumi had whispered her order into the waitress' ear. Shido began to feel even more uneasy towards Kurumi's ulterior motive.

The waitress, who for some reason had smiled embarrassingly, left after giving a nod to Kurumi and confirming her order.

Kurumi returned her attention to Shido, however Shido himself was the one who decided to start the conversation.

"So, Kurumi…"

Shido had a topic that he wanted to discuss with Kurumi, but he was worried about bringing it to her attention so casually.

"Yes?"

After seeing Kurumi tilt her head to show curiosity at Shido's wariness, he began to talk.

"Have you been getting along with everyone okay?"

Understanding now as to why Shido was worried, Kurumi gave a reassuring smile. Half of its meaning was to comfort Shido's anxiety. The other half of the meaning was to appreciate how much he cared.

"Yes. Everyone's been rather kind, surprisingly."

"Really?"

Kurumi nodded.

"Well, there is some tension between Miku-san and I."

"Miku?"

"Yes. She's acting as if I would eat her or something."

Sweat began to roll down Shido's forehead as he gave a weak laugh. He understood all too well how Tenguu City's idol, Miku Izayoi, would feel. She was the only other person besides Shido who had experienced being swallowed by Kurumi's shadow.

"But I haven't met _her_ ever since the incident with DEM either."

"Her?"

"Yes."

The emphasis that Kurumi gave made Shido think that she was now talking about someone different. After a bit of pondering, Shido understood who she was talking about.

"Oh, you mean Mana. Well, I'm sure she'll come around."

"I'd hope so. I think she has the biggest grudge towards me out of everyone else. In fact, I'm sure that she's the only one who has a grudge against me."

"What about Kotori?"

"Surprisingly, she doesn't think anything of our fight."

"That's good."

"Though there are times when I have thoughts of repaying her."

Kurumi suddenly licked her lips and made a menacing smile.

"Let's…not do that…"

"It's a joke."

Shido wondered if Kurumi was truly joking, but her sudden change to a blissful expression barely convinced him of such.

The two continued to talk about how Kurumi was getting along with the others. It seemed that Yoshino and Tohka were the friendliest people towards her out of the group. The Yamai twins would sometimes involve her with their challenges between each other, and Miku was doing her best to get along, but she seemed cautious of Kurumi ever since the incident at Tenguu Square, however it looked like she was also beginning to warm up. Since Natsumi was often self-conscious, she was sometimes overwhelmed by Kurumi's behavior, but she didn't seem to dislike it.

Eventually Shido began to change the subject, and his drink had arrived. Kurumi's order was nowhere to be seen.

"Has anyone been giving you trouble at school?"

Shido felt like he was a parent talking to their child now, but seeing as how Kurumi had certain circumstances, he couldn't help but be worried over the fact that she may have drawn some unneeded attention.

Kurumi had transferred to Shido's school before, but she disappeared shortly after. Now that she had returned, she had once again enrolled in the same school. Many students from last year recognized her immediately.

Kurumi pondered for a moment before answering.

"Not quite. Even Origami-san seems to have accepted my presence."

Shido gave a small sigh.

"That's good."

Origami Tobiichi was Shido's classmate. The two of them had been classmates last year also, but Origami was someone who also had special circumstances, and while they were different from Kurumi's, Origami didn't accept people who were like the one facing Shido right now.

"Were you that worried about me, Shido-san?"

Kurumi asked Shido with a curious look on her face.

"Of course I was."

The corners of Kurumi's mouth raised themselves, forming yet another warm smile.

"That makes me happy, but please don't let it bother you too much."

"Sorry, but that can't be helped."

"No, I mean it."

"Why should I?"

"Because then it'd make me feel guilty about your penalty."

"Eh?"

"Did you forget?"

Kurumi stared at Shido amusingly.

"Oh, yeah, I guess I did."

Shido had forgotten that that was still going on. The rhythm of his heart rate increased again after being reminded of his penalty.

"So…what is my penalty?"

Shido paused at the beginning of his question, wondering if he should have asked.

"It's on its way."

The moment Kurumi replied, the waitress had returned and placed a fairly large sundae in front of them. It was the same one that many of the other customers had asked for.

"H-Hey, Kurumi, what's going on?"

"It's what I ordered. It seems to be quite popular here."

"Uh, yeah, I can see that, but, is this really my penalty?"

"Of course."

"So…you're going to eat ice cream in front of me?"

"No."

Shido thought of how this could be a penalty any other way.

"Then…am I feeding it to you?"

Kurumi gave a chuckle.

"I don't care about the ice cream."

"Eh? Then why did you order it?"

"That's a secret."

Kurumi leaned forward. The diameter of the round table that she and Shido were sitting at wasn't very wide, so the distance between the two of them was now only two or three feet after she leaned forward.

"Hey, Shido-san."

"W-What is it?"

Shido was now very nervous about the situation.

"Would you like to play a game?"

"A-A game?"

Shido asked nervously.

"Yes."

"Right now?"

"That's right."

"…what kind of game?"

Kurumi's expression changed completely after Shido's barrage of questions. He could have sworn that her eyes began to sparkle a little.

"Do you not want to?"

The sad face that Kurumi was making made Shido feel like he would have to rip his own heart out if he ever wanted to resist this girl's charm ever again, however he was more focused on the guilt that he would feel later if he rejected her request, and so, without thinking, Shido reluctantly agreed.

"Alright, alright! I'll play your game."

Happy with Shido's submission, Kurumi's face immediately brightened.

"Really?"

Kurumi asked Shido eagerly.

"Yeah, sure. That's my penalty right?"

Kurumi nodded fiercely.

"Alright. What do I have to do?"

The moment Shido asked, his fate was sealed.

"As it turns out, today is November 11th."

"Okay. So what does that mean?"

Kurumi's expression grew even brighter.

"It's Pocky Day."

There was a moment of silence between the two.

"Wait. Today's Pocky Day?"

"That's right."

"So then…the game that you want me to play with you is..."

"The Pocky game."

"What!?"

Shido automatically jumped out of his seat. He looked around him and realized that everyone in the café was now looking at him and Kurumi, no doubt because of his sudden behavior.

Instead of worrying about the people staring at him and Kurumi, however, Shido looked around and noticed what was truly going on, and suddenly it all made sense. The sundaes that everyone was eating had Pocky sticks in them, and they were only being ordered by couples.

In other words…

"D-Don't tell me…"

Shido sat himself back down and leaned forward so that he could speak softer.

"This was what you wanted to do?"

Kurumi nodded as she beamed.

"In front of all these people?"

"Of course."

"N-No way no way no way."

Shido waved his hands furiously.

"It's your penalty, Shido-san. And all of these people are your witnesses."

"It's because there's so many people that I don't want to do it!"

"But you'll do it, won't you?"

Kurumi's smile didn't waver, but Shido suddenly sensed a very dark aura coming from her. Even so, he had second thoughts.

"Do it!"

One of the customers yelled at Shido. Panicking from the sudden pressure, Shido instinctively yelled back in annoyance.

"Why do you care!?"

Someone else answered.

"This is what the café is for!"

"You're a man aren't you!? If that's what the girl wants then do it!"

Shido rubbed his hair aggressively. He had nowhere to run. The audience was too obsessed at seeing him and Kurumi at their weakest.

_Wait a minute._

Shido brought his attention back to Kurumi.

"Kurumi, are you okay with this?"

"I was the one who ordered it after all."

Kurumi confirmed her resolve. She didn't look like she was forcing herself.

"But, aren't you embarrassed about that?"

"That's why it's a game."

"So…in the end you're just playing with me…?"

"That's right."

"You have no problem with kissing me?"

While the result of the Pocky game did sometimes end up in a kiss, in the end the winner of the game is the one who backs away last. Kurumi wasn't sure if that was how the game was definitely going to end, but even if it did she had no objections.

"We've done it before."

Kurumi suddenly stared at Shido affectionately.

"And I was serious back then too, so this should be easy."

Shido was too flustered to notice that his heart had skipped a beat.

"Yeah, but…"

Shido was at a loss for words. He was hoping that Kurumi would reconsider if she understood, but that didn't look like it was going to happen.

_What is this person thinking?_

Shido's heart was racing. He thought of ways that might get him out of this situation appropriately, but he couldn't think clearly, so whatever he thought of convinced him that there would definitely be consequences, especially if Kurumi was the one who got upset.

Shido stared at Kurumi with intense focus, trying to confirm if he should truly go with the Pocky game. Eventually the girl in front of him started to shift in her seat a little.

"You're staring at me so intently, Shido-san. Are you saying that you wanted to do something else to me?"

"T-That's not it!"

The situation was growing worse by the second. Shido was out of options. It was then that he felt that something was off.

_Wait…something's wrong…_

And so…

Seeing Shido's troubled expression, Kurumi made a hopeless face. It seemed that she had gone a little too far. She really was feeling guilty now. The man sitting in front of her seemed as if his whole world was about to fall apart. She gave a sigh. It seemed that the best idea would be to call it off. She could always have him do something else for his penalty.

_…and I really wanted to do it too._

"Shido-san, if it's too much for you, then-"

"No…I'll do it."

Shido had cut Kurumi off.

"Eh?"

Shido's face suddenly grew incredibly serious.

"I'll do it."

Surprised, Kurumi couldn't help but have her composure completely fall apart. While she was entirely pleased to play the Pocky game, she had underestimated Shido's strong desire to follow.

"E-Eh? Sh-Shido-san, you don't have to force yourself to…"

"No, it's my penalty, and I'm willing to take responsibility."

"R-Responsibility…?"

"Yeah. I don't go back on my word."

"Eh?"

Shido's flash of determination made Kurumi yelp a little. Meanwhile the other customers were now yelling words of encouragement after his newfound resolve.

"I-It's really alright."

"No, I need to go through with this."

Kurumi's face grew redder. Although she had wanted to do the Pocky game with Shido, she hadn't expected him to actually agree so desperately. But this was an opportunity.

And so…

"A-Alright then…shall we start?"

"Y-Yeah…"

Hearing Kurumi ask if they should start, Shido's determination vanished. For a moment it felt like he showed off a little too much.

Before Shido could regret his actions any further, a stick of Pocky that was on the sundae was picked by Kurumi.

Shido gulped.

"Th-Then, here I go…"

Kurumi placed the end of the Pocky stick that wasn't covered in chocolate to her mouth and held it there. She looked at Shido nervously.

Shido's heart began to pound. The face that Kurumi made while holding the Pocky in her mouth was actually extremely cute as if she was expecting a kiss. He froze for a few seconds after imagining that a kiss could actually happen but shortly came back to his senses after realizing that he was keeping her waiting.

"A-Alright."

Shido leaned forward and very softly held the chocolate end of the Pocky stick with his mouth. Just knowing that Kurumi was holding the other end made Shido's head slightly fuzzy and his heart rate irregular. It seemed that Kurumi felt something different. Her eyes were now wide and her face showed a large mix of emotions. Another yelp escaped her mouth when he put his mouth on the Pocky stick, but she continued to hold her end of the snack.

"Th-then, I'll start."

Despite obviously stepping beyond her boundaries, Kurumi quickly regained her composure and volunteered to eat the first part of the Pocky stick. As she bit off a small part of her end, the distance between her and Shido shortened. The audience cheered with delight.

Now it was Shido's turn to widen his eyes. For some reason he was also surprised at the thought that he was having.

Not understanding why, Shido was feeling somewhat selfish. He suddenly thought that this was a game that he had to win.

"O-Okay."

Biting his end of the Pocky stick, Shido could taste the chocolate flavor that was between him and the girl in front of him.

Kurumi flinched when Shido bit down on his piece and moved even closer, but she didn't let go of her end. When she saw Shido eat his piece, she thought that he was actually trying to win. Kurumi wanted the result to be opposite of what he was thinking, and so…

Kurumi grabbed both sides of the table that she and Shido were sitting at and ate a significant piece of the stick. Their faces were now merely several inches away from each other. She was hoping to end the game quickly. Her heart was now beating rapidly. She wondered if Shido was feeling the same.

If Kurumi could see the inside of Shido's body as accurately as how she could predict his thoughts, she probably wouldn't be able to see where his heart was. That was because Shido was certain that his heart had completely melted. His face was now only a few inches away from hers, and if he wasn't careful, he was sure that he could faint at any moment.

Kurumi was wondering how far Shido would go in this game. Although she wanted to win, it seemed that when it came to willpower, Shido was uncontested. He had proven that several times in the past, and now Kurumi understood how much strength he actually had. Her heart had skipped a beat, and for some reason, a pant leaked out of her after Shido ate his next piece.

Shido had heard Kurumi pant, and suddenly it felt like his whole body was going to melt along with his heart.

_Ah, man, this is insane._

As Shido thought to himself, another piece of the Pocky had been eaten. Kurumi's eyes were now firmly closed. He wondered if that was such a good idea. If she ate further than she thought she did, she might reach Shido's end of the Pocky stick after a few bites, but looking at things more closely, Shido couldn't help but lose more of his ability to think. He realized that he was now only two moderate bites from reaching the other end of the snack. At first he was relieved, but then he realized what the end of the Pocky stick would actually mean. Kurumi's idea didn't seem so bad anymore.

Shido looked around the café and noticed that the other customers were no longer cheering. Some of them looked embarrassed while the others seemed like they were really enjoying the moment. There were a few who also looked at him and Kurumi with disbelief.

Shido leaned forward and held the sides of the table. Suddenly, the side of his hands touched Kurumi's.

Kurumi opened her eyes in surprise after feeling a sensation on both of her hands. Shido had leaned forward to also grab the table, and in the end he moved his hands closer. Not only could she feel her heart throb, she was sure that she could feel her entire body pulse. She felt heavy breathing that wasn't hers. Shido had also closed his eyes tightly as if he was going to die at any moment. And Kurumi saw why. The length of the Pocky stick was significantly short.

Shido had successfully eaten his next piece of the Pocky stick, but now he realized that the next piece Kurumi would eat would also most likely be the last. The distance was far too short for her to not reach his end of the snack. He closed his eyes and braced himself. There was a chance that Kurumi could give up, but he wasn't sure if he should pray for that.

But then the moment came…


	4. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3_**

Shido felt a sensation in his mouth, but it wasn't something that was touching his lips. He opened his eyes to notice that the Pocky stick was still there, but the size had definitely shortened, except now it was even shorter than before. He was stunned. Kurumi had consumed the perfect amount that she had to bite off from the snack, and now the length of it seemed miniscule. Unless he could bite off an even smaller amount, the game was hers.

_Wait…_

Time seemed to slow down for Shido.

_What exactly am I trying to win?_

Shido unintentionally pondered his feelings of why he wanted to win, but he immediately came back to his senses. That's because the girl in front of him began to tremble. Her eyes were closed, and he could now feel how heavy her breathing was. Her thoughts were probably somewhere else too. Her already closed eyelids would squeeze even tighter as if she were expecting the moment when her lips met Shido's, and then those same eyelids would loosen up again, trying to relieve themselves of tension.

Now that Shido had a closer look at her, he realized that Kurumi was entirely captivating. He couldn't help but admire the rare, weak face that she was making. It wasn't bad. And that was when Shido understood. He understood that he still didn't know anything about this person, yet she claimed to have known everything about him. How she felt, why she did things, and how she saw them. All of those aspects of Kurumi were incomprehensible to Shido.

It felt a little sad…

But it also felt…exciting.

_…looks like I lose._

Kurumi was growing incredibly impatient. Her focus wasn't on the game anymore, but instead on the ending of the game. The miracle that she pulled was most likely not going to happen a second time, but because of how determined Shido was to win, she realized that her desire was entirely underwhelming, but even Kurumi had her pride. Instead of letting go of what was left of the Pocky stick, she braced herself for the next piece to be bitten off.

Suddenly, she felt a sensation, but it wasn't one that was anywhere in or near her mouth. She opened her eyes to look at her hands and noticed that they were both being held firmly by someone else's.

Her attention diverted from the game to her hands for a brief moment, and during that moment of carelessness, her end of the Pocky stick moved, and her lips felt something soft. She immediately returned her attention to the person in front of her and stared at him with bewilderment for a brief moment.

Shido had his eyes closed, but all the same he made a calm expression that Kurumi found was highly appealing. It was as if he was saying that this was okay. Feeling the sensation from his sudden advance, Kurumi decided to also close her eyes again. That last move had erased nearly everything. Nothing mattered anymore except for the feelings that she currently had in her heart. She would just let the person in front of her worry about the trivial things as she continued to return his kiss.

_Ah. We must look really embarrassing right now._

She couldn't control any part of herself anymore. Her rational thoughts were gone. If the customers were still around and cheering, she couldn't notice them at all.


	5. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 4_**

The sun was nearly setting. Half of it fell behind the horizon, creating an orange and light blue sky.

Shido and Kurumi walked awkwardly beside each other. Neither of them were able to look at one another.

"That was some penalty."

"Well, I did say that you didn't have to go through with it."

"There was no way I could say no with everyone being like that."

There was an awkward silence. Kurumi seemed like she was now in a daze.

"We were there for quite some time though."

"We certainly were…"

"The ice cream even melted."

"It certainly did…"

"And in the end we ended up taking forever eating the rest of the Pocky normally."

"We certainly did…"

Kurumi was mindlessly agreeing to everything Shido said.

"How did you find out about something like that anyway?"

There was a slight pause before Kurumi answered.

"People at school were talking about it."

"I see…"

Kurumi felt as though she needed to apologize.

"…I'm sorry…"

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Because…it was embarrassing…wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was. It was so embarrassing that I thought that I'd have a heart attack."

Kurumi hung her head in shame.

"But…"

Shido scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

"I didn't hate it…"

"Eh?"

Kurumi turned to look at Shido.

"Games like that are fun once in a while."

Shido hesitated in saying his next thought but decided to go through with it.

"Plus it's you, so…"

"…"

Shido felt like he was the only speaking now.

"What's gotten into y-"

Shido turned to look at Kurumi as he spoke, but he couldn't finish his question.

Kurumi had leaned onto Shido and was holding him, but this time it felt like she was having him support more of her body weight. Her knees were slightly bent and she was having difficulty staying upright.

"H-Hey, Kurumi."

Shido and Kurumi had stopped walking. Kurumi herself didn't reply, but she didn't look like she was unconscious either.

"…if you keep saying things like that…I might actually faint…"

"Huh?"

"That wasn't fair, Shido-san."

Kurumi looked into Shido's eyes. Her face warmly pink.

Shido couldn't even tell what a normal heartbeat was anymore. It was as if her recent display was a way of saying that she had literally fallen for him.

Realizing that they were rather close, both of their faces once again turned crimson red, causing Kurumi to look away from Shido while pouting.

"Honestly, first you kiss me and now you say these kinds of things."

"W-Wait a minute, whose idea was this!?"

There was a long silence that Kurumi refused to break.

Eventually Shido gave a sigh.

"Alright, if that's the way you want it."

Kurumi felt herself being lifted off the ground. The sudden sensation made her yelp.

"Sh-Shido-san!?"

Shido was carrying Kurumi like a princess.

"It's getting dark, so we should get home soon."

Seeing as how Kurumi could no longer move for a while, Shido decided to carry her along. They remained silent for most of the time.

Despite the sun nearly setting, there were plenty of people in the shopping district that Shido had returned to, and so plenty of people were giving both him and Kurumi a mix of stares.

"Sh-Shido-san, people are staring at us."

"That's funny, you didn't seem to have a problem with my arm earlier today."

"Yes, but your arm and a princess carry are two totally different things."

"After being put through all of that, this doesn't feel very different."

Kurumi remained quiet.

After leaving the shopping district, Kurumi had noticed that Shido wasn't walking in the direction of where their home was.

"Shido-san…?"

"You said you wanted to do something after this, right?"

"Eh?"

"Well, that'll have to wait."

"O-Okay…"

Shido had never been so assertive before. Kurumi couldn't help but keep staring at his face in admiration. She didn't know what else to say.

"We're here."

Kurumi looked at where the two of them were, and what was before her eyes was an area where one could have a birds-eye-view of an area of Tenguu City. It was the place where Shido and Tohka had ended their first date. Shido couldn't help but question how many times he'd been here, only this time it was with someone else entirely.


	6. Epilogue

**_Epilogue_**

Shido and Kurumi were directly behind the handrails that guarded them from falling into the view. The only problem was that Kurumi couldn't enjoy it. That was because she was still being the princess of the princess carry.

"Um, Shido-san…?"

"Hm?"

"Are you alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been acting rather strange lately…"

"How so?"

Kurumi was wondering if this man was joking. She had hoped that he didn't consider helping with princess carries as normal.

"Well, you made a surprisingly bold move today…two actually, if you count this…"

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"And…you're okay with that?"

"Well, it doesn't bother me."

"I see."

Shido's reply made Kurumi overjoyed. She looked towards the horizon where the sun was setting.

"It's quite the view."

"Yeah."

There was a moment of silence. Only the weak howling of the wind could be heard. Shido suddenly decided to break that silence.

"Hey, Kurumi."

"Yes?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but could you tell me a little about yourself?"

Kurumi was at an impasse. She was debating over whether she should actually talk to him about herself or not. In the end she decided not to.

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

Disappointed, Shido wanted to know the reason.

"Why not?"

"…"

Kurumi expected Shido to start getting upset at her for being so unfair, and yet…

"I see…so that's the problem…"

Kurumi turned to look at Shido.

"Problem?"

"Yeah."

Shido responded with a nod. He turned his head to look at the girl he was holding romantically.

"Kurumi, how much do you know about me?"

"Everything."

Kurumi answered immediately.

"But I don't know anything about you."

Kurumi remained quiet.

"And that's okay."

"Eh?"

Kurumi was caught off guard at Shido's answer.

"You don't have to tell me about yourself now."

Shido's hold on Kurumi grew firm.

"But that just makes me want to know more about you."

"What exactly are you saying, Shido-san?"

Kurumi felt uneasy.

Shido returned her discomfort with a smile.

"You don't want to tell me about yourself, but I want to know more about you."

It was a gentle smile.

"So then there's only one thing to do."

It was a truly gentle smile.

"Kurumi, be my girlfriend."

Another long silence.

Suddenly…

"…eh…?"

Kurumi stared at Shido, dumbfounded. She was at a loss for words again.

"You said you loved me, didn't you?"

Kurumi had wondered how many times her face had flushed red today. She wished that the sun would disappear so that her expression couldn't be read at all. She looked away from Shido.

"Um…I…"

Shido didn't give Kurumi time to reply.

"Well I love you too."

Kurumi had lost all hope in this man.

"You're not playing fair again, Shido-san…"

"Of course I'm not, I don't want it any other way."

Shido looked back at the distant scenery.

Kurumi wondered when she had switched roles with Shido. Before he was the one who would be flustered by her. Now he was confessing to her and making her his. The irony of it all made Kurumi grow uneasy. But it wasn't a bad feeling.

"I guess it can't be helped."

"Good."

Shido pulled Kurumi closer.

"Shido-san…"

"Hm?"

Kurumi moved her face closer and whispered into Shido's ear.

"I really do love you."

"Eh?"

The moment Shido turned his face to look at Kurumi, his lips once again felt something soft against his. The princess carry was suddenly becoming even more difficult to maintain, but he was worried that if he moved at all, he would fall apart entirely and accidentally drop Kurumi, and so he stood there for who knows how long. The princess who wasn't Tohka herself held her own position for what felt like an eternity before she broke the kiss.

Shido was flabbergasted. He had a feeling this was something that he and Kurumi needed to handle first.

"Hey, if you keep doing that, it's going to complicate things really fast."

Kurumi laughed.

"Well then, you can just say that it was from your girlfriend."

Shido stood stock still, realizing the truth behind those words and what he had just done.

Kurumi was swinging her legs back and forth as she wasn't able to contain her excitement.

"Kurumi, did you lie about not being able to walk back then?"

"I never said that I couldn't walk."

Shido couldn't help but look thunderstruck. He gave a hopeless sigh.

"Unbelievable."

Despite those words, Shido's feelings told him otherwise. He let Kurumi down so that she could stand on her own and straightened himself up again afterwards.

"You'll be you, even when you're someone's girlfriend, won't you?"

"It's because I'm someone's girlfriend that I'll be me. Is that bad?"

"Don't be an idiot."

After that sudden reply, Shido reached out and held Kurumi's hand. She recoiled in surprise for a moment.

"Of course it's not bad..."

Kurumi recovered from her recoil and smiled warmly. She slowly tangled her fingers in with Shido's.

Together, while still holding hands, the both of them didn't leave their spot until the sun completely sank behind the horizon.


	7. Afterword

**_Afterword_**

So the summary section's word limit is a little too small for my tastes, thus I decided to add an afterword section this time around.

This story is pretty much more about Shido and Kurumi, and I'm going to warn everyone now that this is not going to change anytime soon. I ship this couple harder than any couple in the world.

That being said, they definitely aren't the only couple that I think look good together, but that's another story for another time.

November 11th is known as Pocky Day, and after realizing that people actually play the Pocky game, I thought of an idea that I just had to write out, and thus this fan fiction was born.

I count this story as a sequel, but not to my first story. Why? To be honest, I've had more ideas but have been too busy and lazy writing them out, so in the end these are not being released in chronological order, but it should still work out in the end. I'm trying to have the story make sense, but at the same time I'm trying to publish them in their corresponding days (such as November 11th and Pocky Day). However this is fan fiction, so I'm not being insanely strict towards myself, so at the same time I wouldn't get my hopes up in thinking that this is going to be the most punctually, grammatically, and sensibly correct story ever.

If you can enjoy the story despite all these problems, then more power to you.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt that it just had to be done. So here it is.

My thanks go out to Ezaki Glico for Pocky, Mr. Koushi Tachibana for Date A Live, and everyone who has managed to appreciate this story. You all have my eternal and undying gratitude.

Also a brief note: I mentioned Natsumi in this story but stated in the previous story that the setting took place after Volume 7. My excuse is this: when Shido sealed Kurumi's powers during Tanabata during the fan fiction story, it had to have already been a year after the previous Tanabata of the time after Shido sealed Kotori's powers in the original story.

So after sealing Kotori's powers and celebrating Tanabata with Kurumi's clone for the first time, Shido had to have met the Yamai twins, Miku and Natsumi, which means that they are all necessary for this story if I want to make sense out of it based on the original story. The real problem is, however, that if I went all the way to include Origami's story (which by the way is amazing, so I definitely didn't ignore that part because I disliked it in any way or anything like that), there would be too many facts interfering with each other, which would make this fan fiction a bigger mess than it already is.

Most importantly I would have a harder time determining the accurate outcome of things because the time between Origami's arc and the next Tanabata is nearly a year, and who knows what Mr. Tachibana has in store during that part of the timeline. So with that in mind, I hope you'll forgive me for not including the significance of Origami's arc and being vague about Natsumi's arc.


End file.
